I have a much different lifestyle today than I did before July 2008. I wanted some control over my life and boy did I get it! I wanted to gain some "spark" that would ignite the passion I knew I had for life. I got sparked right away I was so ready for this change. Let me tell you a little about my former self.

I have been heavy all of my life. When I see pics of me much younger I think I don't look fat. What was I thinking! It was a reasonable amount to lose. Now I have 125. ...

I have a much different lifestyle today than I did before July 2008. I wanted some control over my life and boy did I get it! I wanted to gain some "spark" that would ignite the passion I knew I had for life. I got sparked right away I was so ready for this change. Let me tell you a little about my former self.

I have been heavy all of my life. When I see pics of me much younger I think I don't look fat. What was I thinking! It was a reasonable amount to lose. Now I have 125. Sheesh! Yes I only wanted to get to 200 lbs. I didn't know yet that being sparked would change me so much. Had I known about this sooner would I have gone forward with this new chapter in my life? I can't answer that now or maybe ever. This time I was ready to accept what I was reading. I knew it all before but it didn't take.

The nutrition articles just fell into place. I tried to avoid the Fitness articles! I could barely walk 30 feet without having to sit down and catch my breath. I never thought that one day I would enjoy walking. My sister Thoms1 has been my diet and exercise buddy from the very beginning! We struggled trying to walk block by block! At first I had to use two canes. Becky had COPD so she was wheezing the whole way! We finally graduated to using walking sticks! We needed them due to hip pain. Without them I don't know if we would have continued on in this journey! She would push me and I her! If there is only one thing that you get from reading this is if at all possible get a diet and exercise buddy! 05/23/13 Update I am doing Spark Coach and my challenge for the day was to update my sparkpage with my current weight and to update my goals. I weighed in at 165.8 lbs. Of course I am visiting my sister in MT and I know her scale weighs about 3 lbs less than mine at home but at least I have a starting point. If I can maintain or lose 3 lbs I will be ecstatic! While away I want to be very mindful of my eating. A treat here and there is fine but not every day! Hamilton has some very good fast food joints which have always been a downfall for me. Now I will have to ask myself some questions. Are you really hungry or is something on your mind? Are you worried? ETC. Gee it is never ending with me. I would like to wake up one day and not have to think of anything. Just go to the kitchen and make my meals without thinking. OH! When I am at home that is pretty much the way it is. Of course I have done batch cooking and it all works out really well. But sometimes it is nice to make a chicken or turkey burger for a change up. I think I have to go food shopping soon and pick up some chicken burgers or veggie burgers. I need a slight change for during the week.

My goals for the next two months while I am here in Mt is: 1. Maintain or lose 3 lbs. Currently 165.8 2. Be mindful of my eating 3. Go to Curves 4-5 days a week and really give it my all while there. 4. Make Julie's life a bit easier while I am here. 5. Walk Paloma every day. I know I can do this. I will do this.

04/12/13 update March 18th I had excess skin removal surgery. I had a circumferential abdominoplasty (all the way around the waist area, and an inner thigh lift. My goal for the surgery was to get rid of my big love handles around my waist and to get rid of some of my massive amount of skin on my thighs. I always hated my thunder thighs! After losing all that weight I felt cheated! I would look in the mirror and still see these huge thighs and see all those rolls. Hmmm! I let it fester in my mind for a couple of years and finally decided to do something about it. When I went in for and estimate I was shocked at the cost of both procedures. Well the doctor was able to combine the procedures. My insurance would not pick up any of it! Including the lab work! Oh well! I found out that if I had had weight loss surgery it would have been more likely that I would have gotten the surgery for excess skin removal paid for by the insurance company. Such is life! However, I did have some money that I inherited from my mother that I decided I would use for this purpose. She had always wanted a facelift but never felt she could justify the cost. Talking it over with my cousin she put it to me like this. Are you worth it? I did think it over a long time and finally made the commitment. If ma was here she might not give her approval but I know when lying in bed at night she would get a smile on her face and give a little chuckle! It has been almost a month since surgery and I am feeling pretty good. I look in the mirror with clothes on and see straight lines. Goal achieved! I just noticed I am just over 5 lbs heavier that I was back at the end of July. I am okay with that! In fact since the end of August 2012 I have had a devil of a time maintaining. I reset my goal weight to 165 lbs. I would like to maintain that weight for f few months just to see if I can! If I am successful I would like to drop it by 5 lbs to see how I do. Of course the further away I get from 325 lbs the better I like it but for me now it is all about how I feel. I am comfortable right at the weight I am. I love the way I look in the mirror. Anyway, I am glad I did it and more importantly I am glad I did the footwork in order to be able to get it done. My doctor said that my body was ready for this surgery. That is why I didn't have much pain. I did ask him if I was abnormal as far as the lack of pain went. He said yes, I was abnormal. Most people will experience the pain because their bodies are not ready for it. All the exercise helped me to this end. Especially the strength training. So if you are considering this type of surgery make sure your body is ready for it!

07/31/12 Update Today I weighed in at 163.2 lbs. Sunday I started a two day low carb diet. My sisters' in-laws have been doing this 2 days out of the week as a maintenance tool. I now understand when the Spark experts say that the only thing that fuels your brain is carbohydrates! I would like to say that my forgetfulness during those two days was due to my age but I know better! I will give this a try for another month and see what happens. I have a low thyroid problem and take thyroid medication, in reading some of the nutrition articles I have learned that I should stay on the low end of my Carbohydrates range. I have a couple of go to recipes now that fit in so well with this range. One is an eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash casserole. I use goat and parmesan cheese. It tastes like I am eating lasagna. Another one is a recent find. Chef Meg did a make over..Slow cooker marinara chicken and vegetables. I doubled the recipe and used a full 24 oz jar of salsa. I call it slow cooker salsa chicken soup. You get 1 hearty cup for 8 carbs and about 140 cals. They are now a staple for lunches and dinner. If you want to see what I eat just access my nutrition tracker. Almost two weeks ago I had a slight accident on the treadmill. I have been doctoring with my back so have been taking it easy. I try to walk a little bit but for now the dr. wants me to take it easy for another week. That is another reason I have changed my diet somewhat! I'll let you know how things turn out!

07/09/12 Update Today I weighed in at 162.6 lbs. I still consider myself maintaining! I have had a devil of a time since the holdays (2011). I was dating for awhile and enjoyed it very much. We went out to eat a lot!!! So I was constantly trying to do damage control! I don't want to do that! I want to enjoy my life without having to worry about weight gain. I still weigh and measure except for when I don't! Does that say anything to you? No! I really do weigh and measure unless I go out to eat and then I DO TRY to use my head and remember portion control. I am a much happier and healthier person today. I weigh in almost every day just to keep a check on how I am doing. If I have a high weigh day that's okay! The next day may be a low weigh day. Fluxuation is a part of life! Since joining Spark I have never ever let what the scale says bother me. Spark must have given me a sense of freedom! I love SPARK! I try but am not always successful at staying within my recommended calorie range and I also try to pay close attention to my Carbs/Protein/Fats percentage. I sometimes have trouble keeping my fat in check! I have been rethinking my goal wt for sometime now and just possibly 150 is to low for me. My body seems to like 165! Oh Well! It is what it is! SparkPeople has been a god send for me! SPARK ON! As of Today I have lost 162.4 lbs 01/21/11)UPDATE Today I weighed in at 153.8! WooHoo for me! Getting back on track after the holidays wasn't to bad for me...well I did have constant thoughts of chocolate covered anything. That has never happened to me before. With my diet buddy's help I have been weaned from them!

Today I am nearing my goal. This past weigh-in I was 161.2. Just 11.2 lbs. to go. Then I will enter another adventure into maintaining! I am excited about it. Watch me continue to grow!

Update 2/12/10: I have been on Spark People for the last 19 Months. I have lost 133 lbs. I had gained 9 lbs during the past Holiday Season so with our Valentine's Day Challenge on Team 300 Lbs. Plus I lost 17 lbs. since Jan. 1st 2010! WooHoo for me!

Update: I have been on Spark People for the last 16 months. I have lost 124 lbs. Each new day presents new challenges. How I handle these challenges without overeating is very important to me. I try not to be judgemental of myself or other people.

My goals for 2009:

By Jan 01, 2010 I will:

Be under 200 lbs. Didn't happen until 01/22/10 (198) Be exercising 5 days a week. Started Jan 3rd 2010 Be walking (nonstop)all over Prairie du Sac and Sauk City. Met sometime in April 09, Continue to walk both villages. Be going jogging with Danielle (niece)at least once a week. Still working towards this. Be wearing trendy clothes. They are smaller but I don't know how trendy they are. In a woven pant I can wear a size 16 In a knit pant I wear a size 12 or a medium. I started oout wearing size 32 with an expandable waist. Be wearing knee hi boots. Met 11-14-09 Yea Me!!

I can't believe another year has zipped by! I was very diligent last year at this time. I did not want to have a gain during the holidays. I managed to even loss a few pounds. We have planned to have a healthified meal. Getting rid of some extra unhealthy calories and fats but I know it is still going to tempt me! I am trying to eat at the lower end of my calorie range to adjust for some of the extra calories I will eat. That is so hard for me now. I look at my report and try to get all my nutrients in the good range. Well if something isn't in that range I try to adjust and usually that adds calories. I think I am turning into obsessive on this point. Maybe for a few days I need to drop some of those nutrients off the radar range and just concentrate on calories!

So..here's the plan: 1. I WILL eat at the lower end of my calorie range. 2. I WILL exercise each and every day. Even if I get just 30 min. a day it will be something! 3. I WILL not tempt Becky or anyone else with food or desserts! 4. I WILL drink all of my water.

Thanksgiving Day!

1. I WILL be AWARE of what I eat ALL day long! 2. I WILL eat breakfast! 3. I will not graze! 4. I WANT to break into onederville before the new year. This will get me there!

My Plan worked very well until Christmas day. The popcorn tins came out and I did not do very well!

I read this on CRAZYGAGRANNY Spark Page As I read it I thought this is how I feel but she was so eloquent I copied it.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT THAT GIVES THEM THE STRENGTH TO PUSH ON.. THEN, IT IS ALL WORTH THE JOURNEY!

I HOPE AND PRAY I WILL BE ABLE TO HELP OTHERS THE WAY SO MANY HAS HELPED ME, AND CONTINUE TO HELP ME. WE CAN NEVER GO THROUGH THIS JOURNEY ALONE.

I KNOW THERE ARE SO MANY THAT NEVER REACH OUT FOR SUPPORT AND HELP, FOR THOSE MY PRAYERS GO OUT FOR WE ALL NEED A HELPING HAND. WE DIDN'T GET HERE OVER NIGHT AND WE DIDN'T GET HERE ALONE.

WE NEED SUPPORT. WE NEED LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING. WE NEED GUIDANCE.

WITHIN THESE PAGES OF SP ANYONE CAN FIND A HOME!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

CONCENTRATE ONLY ON TODAY!

WHAT WAS NEVER HERE? YESTERDAY

WHAT WILL NEVER BE HERE? TOMORROW!

SO THINK ABOUT ONLY TODAY!

IF THINGS DIDN'T GO RIGHT ANOTHER TIME WE CAN NOT CHANGE IT!

CONCENTRATE ON THE PRESENT!

NEVER HESITATE TO CALL UPON A FRIEND!

FEELING LONELY AND SCARED? TAKE MY HAND...

LET'S DO THIS TOGETHER TO BE THE BEST WE CAN BE!

I just found this poem on another sparker's page I had to copy and paste it! Georiga Kay sent this to a spark friend.

MIRROR, MIRROR ( a poem to make you giggle)

Mirror mirror on the wall do you have to tell it all? Where do you get the glaring light to make my clothes look just too tight?

I think I'm fine but I can see you won't cooperate with me. The way you let the shadows play you'd think my hair was turning grey.

What's that you say, a double chin? No that's the way the light comes in. If you persist in peering so you'll confiscate my facial glow.

And then if you're not hanging straight you'll tell me next I'm gaining weight I'm really quite upset with you for giving this distorted view.

I hate you being so smug and wise. Oh look what's happened to my thighs! I warn you now oh mirrored wall since we're not on speaking terms at all If I look like this in my new jeans you'll find yourself in smitherines!

My Goals:
1. To maintain weight at 165 lbs. Plus or minus 4 lbs. 2. Be mindful of my eating 3. Go to Curves 4-5 days a week and give it my all while there. 4. Help make Julie's life easier while I am here visiting. 5. Walk Paloma everyday.

My Program:
1.Aerobic Exercise- 5 days a week along with strength training.

2.Weigh and measure my food. Find out how many calories I can eat without gaining weight.

I saw your comment on one of the blogs I read yesterday and was very impressed with the progress you've made! Such an awesome accomplishment. I've been down this road many times myself, and have had some successes but eventually I seem to head back up the scale. But this time around I seem to be on the right track, having changed some of my strategies. Although I haven't been losing this month -- first a lingering headcold that kept me out of the gym, then some schedule constraints, holiday treats everywhere etc., I'm happy that I have not gained! Hope you have a very happy Holiday season!

"Progress. Just make progress. It's okay to have setbacks and the need for do-overs. It's okay to draw a line in the sand and start over again --- and again. Just make sure you're moving the line forward. Move forward. Take baby steps, but at least take steps that keep you from being stuck. Then change will come. And it will be good." -Lysa Terkeurst Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog, "I've Got Goals To Reach." Have a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by my blog Hunger today. "One and done" means one plate of food (no seconds). My plan is the "No S" plan which is no snacks, no seconds and no sweets except sometimes on special days. It's pretty simple and I love it! But, as I train myself to eat a moderate meal three times a day without snacking, I am challenged by hunger -- emotional and otherwise!